Boris Johnson to break manifesto commitment on defence spending

Boris Johnson is set to break a flagship manifesto commitment on defence spending, amid calls for an increase to the budget in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

On the eve of a Nato summit in Madrid, where Western countries will agree to boost their forces on the alliance’s border with Russia, ministers are set to miss their target of increasing defence spending by 0.5 per cent above inflation every year.

The Telegraph understands Ben Wallace has privately made the case to the Treasury and Downing Street that the war in Ukraine justifies more spending on troops and equipment.

The Conservatives' 2019 manifesto said ministers would “continue to exceed the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence and increase the budget by at least 0.5 per cent above inflation every year of the new Parliament”.

But a Government source said the pledge is no longer sustainable because of the cost of dealing with the Covid pandemic.

Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said he was “committed to that and the 2 per cent,” but Whitehall sources admitted it would not happen.

'The intention is always to honour the manifesto'

A government source said: “The manifesto was written before £400 billion had to be spent locking people up for their own safety because of the global pandemic.

“There is a reality check on things that were offered in a different age which is the only reasonable thing that we can expect.

“The intention is always to honour manifesto commitments but they were made before £400bn was spent coping with a global pandemic that none could have possibly foreseen.”

Rising prices mean Mr Johnson would have to increase the budget by almost 10 per cent to meet the manifesto pledge.

The latest inflation figures from the Office for National Statistics show it has reached 9.1 per cent this year, and the Bank of England has warned it will rise to 11 per cent.

On Tuesday Mr Wallace will deliver a speech at RUSI, a defence think tank, where he is expected to call for an increase of military spending.

He has previously warned that ministers risk missing the 2 per cent target because of rising inflation.

The UK’s international commitments are expected to rise at this week’s Nato summit.

Mr Johnson is expected to increase British troop deployments to the alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia.

Troops stationed there are intended to act as a “trip wire” to slow down a Russian invasion of Western Europe, but Nato leaders have argued the war in Ukraine justifies a more substantial standing force.

The alliance has pledged to increase forces available on high alert to more than 300,000 troops – a more than sevenfold rise.

Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato Secretary General, said on Monday: “Russia has walked away from the partnership and the dialogue that Nato has tried to establish with Russia for many years.

“They have chosen confrontation instead of dialogue. We regret that – but of course, then we need to respond to that reality.”

The Government’s last defence integrated review, published last March, announced plans to cut troops from 82,000 to 72,500.

The main stock of battle tanks will be cut from 227 to 148, although the remaining vehicles will be upgraded.